Sir Anthony Hoskins
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins, (1 September 1828 – 21 June 1901) was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer. As a junior officer, he took part in the Cape Frontier War of 1851 and then saw action at the Battle of Canton in December 1857 and the Battle of Taku Forts in May 1858 during
Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
. Once promoted to flag officer rank, he acted as Second-in-Command of the Fleet at the bombardment of Alexandria in July 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War. He went on to be
First Naval Lord First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
in September 1891 but in that role took a relaxed view of the size of the Fleet and did not see the need for a large shipbuilding effort on the scale envisaged by some of his colleagues, such as Admiral Sir Frederick Richards and Admiral Sir John Fisher who were concerned about French and German naval expansion.


Early career

Born the son of Henry Hoskins and Mary Hoskins (née Phelips) and educated at
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
, Hoskins entered the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in April 1842. During his early career he served in the
sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...
HMS ''Conway'' and then fourth-rate HMS ''President'' taking action against slave traders off the coast of East Africa. Promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
on 26 March 1849, while serving in the fifth-rate HMS ''Castor'' on the Cape of Good Hope Station, he took part in the Cape Frontier War of 1851. After being given command of the gunboat HMS ''Beaver'' in 1856, he was promoted to
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
on 26 February 1858 and commanded the gunboat HMS ''Slaney'' on the China Station seeing action at the Battle of Canton in December 1857 and the Battle of Taku Forts in May 1858 during
Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
. Hoskins was given command of the
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
HMS ''Hecate'' on the Pacific Station in May 1860 and then of the sloop HMS ''Plumper'' also on the Pacific Station in January 1861. He then took command the sloop HMS ''Zebra'' in the
West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...
in April 1862, and having been promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
on 12 December 1863, he was given command of the screw sloop HMS ''Eclipse'' on the
North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...
in August 1869 and then command of the broadside ironclad HMS ''Sultan'' in the
Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
in July 1873. He went on to be Commodore of the
Australian Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...
in September 1875 with his broad pennant initially in the
corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
HMS ''Pearl'' and then, from January 1877, in the corvette HMS ''Wolverine''. He was appointed a Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 22 January 1877 and a
Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...
on 2 June 1877.


Senior command

Promoted to
rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
on 15 June 1879, Hoskins became
Junior Naval Lord Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...
in May 1880 but was despatched to the Mediterranean in 1882 where he acted as Second-in-Command of the Fleet at the bombardment of Alexandria in July 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War. Having been advanced to
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
on 17 November 1882, Hoskins became Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves later that month. For his service during the Anglo-Egyptian War he was appointed to the Turkish Order of the Medjidie, Second Class on 12 January 1883. Promoted to vice admiral on 1 June 1885, Hoskins went on to be
Second Naval Lord The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...
in July 1885 and Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, hoisting his flag in the
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
HMS ''Camperdown'', in March 1889. For his work in the Mediterranean he was advanced to Order of the Medjidie, First Class on 7 November 1889. Promoted to full
admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
on 20 June 1891, Hoskins became
First Naval Lord First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
in September 1891. As First Naval Lord he took a relaxed view of the size of the Fleet and did not see the need for a large shipbuilding effort on the scale envisaged by some of his colleagues such as Admiral Sir Frederick Richards and Admiral Sir John Fisher who were concerned about French and German naval expansion. He was advanced to
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
on his retirement on 17 November 1893. Hoskins died at Pleystons Capel near
Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...
on 21 June 1901 and is buried at
North Perrott North Perrott is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of the English county of Somerset. History The name Perrott comes from the River Parrett. There is evidence of Ancient Rome, Roman and Iron Age settlement in the village ...
in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
.


Family

In 1865 Hoskins married Dorothea Ann Eliza Robinson, daughter of
Sir George Stamp Robinson, 7th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
. Lady Hoskins died shortly after her husband, on 7 October 1901, aged 62. The couple had no children.


References


External links


William Loney RN
Career History , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoskins, Anthony 1828 births 1901 deaths First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Lords of the Admiralty Military personnel from Somerset People educated at Winchester College Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War